COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM 5 Blooms awarded for the RMWB! It starts with you!

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1 It starts with you! This newsletter will keep you informed on beautification programming in the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo. We will keep you up to date on the latest green initiatives and provide you with resources to live a greener life. How it works: Click on the titles below to be taken to the specific content within the body of the newsletter or scroll down to read the newsletter in its entirety. There is a back to the top link in each section that will take you back to this section of the newsletter. If you missed an issue click HERE Important notices in this issue include: 1. Communities in Bloom 2. Nominate your Neighbor 3. Winterizing your Home 4. Pumpkin Drop Off 5. Vids for Kids Contest 6. Lesson Plans Envirothon competition 8. Gener COMMUNITIES IN BLOOM 5 Blooms awarded for the RMWB! The municipality brought home a slough of hardware from this year s Communities in Bloom national conference and awards. Wood Buffalo was a top-three finalist in seven outstanding achievement awards: Tidiness, Urban Forestry, Turf and Groundcovers, Environmental Action, Youth Involvement, and Land Reclamation. Wood Buffalo won two of the distinguished categories: Winter Life and Turf, and Groundcovers.

2 The experience at this year s Communities in Bloom national conference and awards can only be described by one word wow, said local Communities in Bloom Chair Syed K. Rizvi. Congratulations and thank you to all residents for making it happen. Wood Buffalo was named this year s "Best Community Edible Garden" in the Scotts Miracle-Gro Garden Contest. Volunteer Coordinator Sandra Campbell was the recipient of the award for her volunteer leadership and coordination of the community gardens at Helen Pacholko Park. The region was once again a five-bloom finalist with special mention for sports fields. Granby, Quebec received the top honor in the 50,001 + national population category. NOMINATE YOUR NEIGHBOR Winterlights 2012 Recognize a home or business for their outstanding front yard winter lighting displays and decorations. Submit photos recognitions at from November 15 to December 15, Selected photos will be featured as Display of the Week starting November 30, Photos will be highlighted online and in the Connect Newspaper. Take a self tour! Visit the Wood Buffalo Communities in Bloom website to view the list of recognized displays. For more information, please cib@woodbuffalo.ab.ca or call WINTERIZING YOUR HOME Become more energy efficient and save $$$ Winter is on its way, bringing icy winds, frigid temperatures, and for some of us, utility bills that could make your blood run cold. Fortunately, by taking a few simple steps before the big freeze, you can create a greener, more energy efficient home that will also be easier on the wallet. Getting your children involved in this process will educate them and make them more aware of the costs that are literally running out of the door. Seal up those hidden leaks One of the simplest ways to retain heat and reduce energy costs this winter is by installing proper weather-stripping and caulking around the house. According to Hydro One, up to 40 per cent of home heat loss in winter is due to air leakage, and if you added up all the cracks and leaks in the average

3 Canadian home it would be like having a hole in your wall the size of a basketball. Invest in a programmable thermostat It's wasteful to heat an empty house, so why not take advantage of a programmable thermostat? The David Suzuki Foundation recommends automatically lowering your household temperature while you sleep or are away at work, and bringing the heat back up when you wake or arrive home. With proper use, you'll never notice the difference in temperature, but your bank account certainly will. Add insulation Adding extra insulation into your attic and crawl-spaces is another simple and effective way to reduce heating needs by up to 30 per cent. Luckily, today there are many alternatives to the traditional pink fiberglass out there, and you can choose to insulate your house with eco-friendly cotton, recycled newsprint or soybean oil based products. Tune-up your furnace Now is also the time to check your furnace to make sure they are working at peak efficiency. By scheduling a professional cleaning and inspection each fall, your furnace will burn cleaner, last longer and save energy. Also, by changing filters at least twice each winter, you can improve both energy efficiency and air quality in your home. Mind your pipes and gutters By making sure that your gutters are clean and pipes are protected, you can save yourself some major repair headaches down the road. Keeping your gutters free of leaves, sticks and other debris will help melting snow and ice to flow freely, and prevent ice dams that can cause water damage to your home's roof and walls. Turning off the water to your outside garden hose spigots and draining the lines will prevent water inside from freezing and expanding, which could lead to cracked pipes, water damage and waste. Also, look for any pipes inside that aren't insulated and run through unheated spaces like garages and basements, and wrap them in insulation sleeves to prevent freezing and breakage remember, there's nothing worse than being knee-deep in a flooded basement in the dead of winter. PUMPKIN DROP OFF Pumpkin drop off will take place from November 1 st to November 14 th (excluding November 11 th ).

4 There are other ways to get rid of your old pumpkins. Rather than throwing away your pumpkins, recycling pumpkins is the responsible and earth-friendly thing to do. Use it for decorating after Halloween. If the pumpkin is not in bad shape, you can scoop out the insides, clean it up and use it to hold a dried flower arrangement or even a food item like stuffing (if the jack-o-lantern holes aren't too big!). You could also place a glass vase full of water inside the pumpkin and fill it with live flowers. Use it for food. Clean and roast the seeds for a healthy, yummy snack. Clean the pumpkin as well, roast it and then scoop out the flesh. Mash it down with a large fork, and mix with melted butter and brown sugar to make a sweet and good for you baby food. Adults might like it too! Use it for compost. If your pumpkin is rotting, break it up and add it to your compost pile or bury it around your

5 rose bushes. It will decompose and add valuable nutrients to the soil. Use it to feed birds. Put pumpkin seeds in a feeder for birds and squirrels. Use your recycling bin. Many cities will accept pumpkins in yard waste bins, and some cities that do not provide yard waste bins will still accept them at organic material recycling centers, VIDS FOR KIDS CONTEST Green Planet 4 Kids Split $5000 between you and your school by creating a video that is educational and/or promotes positive behaviors regarding Reduce the most important of the 3R s. Contest Theme: Reduce the most important of the 3R s Entries Accepted: November 19 December 14, 2012 Voting: January 7 27, 2013 Winner Announced: January 28, 2013 For all the details CLICK HERE. LESSON PLANS We take the guess and prep work out of creating lessons to engage your students in beautification learning. Check out the LESSON PLANS you can use in your classroom to educate your students on beautification, civic pride and the environment. We are adding lessons all the time so check back often ENVIROTHON COMPETITION May 2-5, 2013 Envirothon is an annual hands-on indoor/outdoor team competition designed to challenge and test student s knowledge of soils, aquatic ecology, forestry, wildlife, energy, and a current environmental issue. The competition encourages high school students to become interested in natural resource conservation and environmental issues, and foster an appetite to pursue a science related career. The provincial winner goes on to compete in a North

6 American event sponsored by Canon. This event reaches over 500,000 students across North America each year and proves itself to be an exciting and useful tool for incorporating environmental education into the classroom. For more information on the background and rules of the Envirothon CLICK HERE. GENER March 14-17, 2013 Generate 2013 is a dynamic education summit for students and their teachers that will provide 80 high school students and 40 teachers with a unique opportunity to learn, share and advance energy literacy in Alberta. For more information visit Eco Seed is sent out the first Wednesday of the month. It highlights Beautification programs and events, and is your source for green initiatives and lifestyle tips. If you would like to have your added or removed from this list, or would like to add information please send your request to beautification@woodbuffalo.ab.ca You can also visit the RMWB website for additional opportunities and updates in the area of Beautification.